Update, 10 April 2017: LG South Africa has quietly issued a new recommended retail price for the LG G6. The new smartphone now has an RRP of R12 099, making it significantly cheaper than the Galaxy S8. This also means that the G6 is on equal footing compared to the G5, give or take a few hundred rand.
Original article: Earlier this week, we got word that the LG G6 (hands-on) would be coming to South Africa on Friday 7 April.
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The release date meant that the new smartphone would have a head-start of almost a month compared to the Samsung Galaxy S8. However, LG has beaten Samsung to the punch in the price department — although it’s not a clear-cut victory.
The new handset will have a prepaid price of R14 629, the company confirmed at its local launch event in Johannesburg today (4 April). By comparison, the Galaxy S8 has a price tag of R15 499.
The G6 venue has a pool. You know what has to be done. #G6FullVision pic.twitter.com/VhuJQ1jXFc
— Gearburn (@gearburn) April 4, 2017
In saying so, the Galaxy S8 does offer a more powerful chip, in the form of the Snapdragon 835 or Exynos 8895. The G6 ships with last year’s Snapdragon 821 silicon. Still, the older chip is very capable anyway.
It’s also worth noting that the G5 saw a price drop before its actual SA release, launching at R11 799. So the G6 price definitely sees a leap.
LG has however confirmed that all G6 owners will receive a 64GB microSD card and Tone Bluetooth headset with their purchase.
Otherwise, the LG G6 features 4GB of RAM, a 3300mAh battery, IP68 dust/water-resistance and a 5.7-inch 18:9 LCD screen (2880×1440).